It is almost Easter time. Have you given any thought to how you can make Easter as “natural” as possible?

Last week I posted about some natural and fair trade Easter baskets and a chocolate making kit that you can buy from Global Exchange. While those are some great options for Easter, there are also some ways you can make having a natural Easter a DIY project.

Make Your Own Baskets - This is what I usually do. Just get a basket (we reuse every year) and take some paper laying around your house that you would usually recycle and run it through a paper shredder. You can also use scissors if you don’t have a shredder. Fill the baskets will little trinkets and toys, a stuffed animal, some felted wool eggs, crayons and water colors, organic juice boxes, and healthier candy like Dagoba Chocodrops. Whole Foods has a lot of healthy options for Easter Baskets.

Dye Eggs Using Natural Colors – Most people color their eggs with egg kits that contain dyes made from petrochemicals, but in times past eggs were colored with plant materials found in nature.

To dye eggs with natural coloring put raw, white-shelled eggs in a pan and cover with water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Add your coloring agent and bring to a boil and then let the eggs simmer for 15 minutes. Rinse and allow to cool.

You can also hard boil them first and then fill glass jars with water and the coloring agent, putting the jars in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and then stirring. Then allow the eggs to sit in the jars overnight.

For pink and red colored eggs use cranberry juice, beets, or raspberries.

For yellow eggs use saffron or tumeric

For purple eggs use red wine.

For blue eggs use red cabbage leaves or blueberries.

For brown eggs use grape juice, rosehip tea, or coffee.

For orange eggs use yellow onion skins.

Happy Easter!!